Because
by Karuna-tan
Summary: He hated to be called by a single letter - it made him seem like he had no personality, that he just was. Nothing else. Merely existed. One shot, BB/L.


**A/N:** I do get inspired sometimes, but the inspiration to this short one shot came in the middle of the night. It didn't turn out the way I had thought about it first, but I still like the results. It's been a while since I've written anything at all, so writing this was a huge relief. Anyways, I hope you like it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or its characters. What I do own is the idea or the thing that resembles an idea in this one shot.

* * *

Brown eyes, green eyes, blue eyes - the little boy sitting underneath a huge, old oak wished he had a pair of those. Maybe then he would fit better into the crowd. Maybe then some of the kids, or at least one of them, would actually approach him. The devil's spawn, that's what they called him. Being only a 7-year-old little kid, Beyond didn't understand what he had done to deserve such an ugly nickname from the others. Sure, he was quiet, more of an observer and he had those cursed red eyes. At least he himself considered them to be a curse to him.

Beyond had been introduced to the other children in the orphanage few days ago - what he didn't understand was the fact that he had only heard them called by a single letter. His eyes focused on a small, fragile brunette girl and he tilted his head a bit - why was she called S, since Carol was such a nice name already? And most of all, why was he to be called as B? He already had a name. The caretakers had explained something about privacy and they had used lots of other fancy words which Beyond just didn't understand.

"What is that freak staring at again?" He could hear the other children mumbling to each other. He simply chose to avert his gaze down to the ground, pretending he just hadn't heard that. He wasn't a freak - he was just like them, right?

A small breeze hit his face, caressing his cheeks - it was somewhat cold, since fall had already dawned in England. The trees changed their color into beautiful yellows, oranges and reds - red... Beyond blinked his eyes and stood up, brushing his jeans a bit.

"Don't care about them," a small voice from his left side voiced out. Beyond blinked in surprise and looked over to his side to see a boy about his own age. "They only pick on you because they envy your eyes."

"As if," Beyond scoffed and shook his head, making his hair look even more like a mess. "Shouldn't you be there with them?"

"No. I don't like playing games, they bore me," the boy replied nonchalantly. "Are you the new one, B?" he asked.

Beyond nodded. "Yeah... But it'd be a lot nicer if you just called me Beyond."

"Oh, okay. I'm A."

* * *

Years passed, not as quickly as Beyond had hoped, but they still did anyways. On his sixteenth birthday he had learned that in case something bad would happen to L's first successor, he was the second in line. He merely nodded to this piece of information, gaining curious looks from the caretakers. What did they exactly wanted him to act like? Panic? Pfth. Beyond couldn't care less.

"A! A, wait!" Beyond shouted and ran through the hallways of the dormitory, finally reaching A, who had halted and looked a bit surprised. "Guess what? They chose me to be the second in line!"

"Second in line? What are you babbling about Beyond?" A asked, clearly confused.

"If something happens to L's successor, who ever that may be, I'm the one supposed to take over," Beyond explained, tilting his head a bit.

"Oh, congratulations," A replied with a much quieter voice than usual.

Beyond had noticed during the past few days that there was something terribly wrong with A, but being a good friend that he was, he didn't want to bring it up unless A wanted to tell him about it. He could see the lifespans of people and their real names, but he wasn't a mind reader. "Thanks."

"Beyond..." A started, looking around to make sure there was no one else to hear their conversation. "I... I'm the first successor," he whispered, looking down, guilt written all over his face. "And I don't mean to sound rude or ungrateful, b-but... I seriously don't want to be. I can't do it."

"Huh? A, what are you talking about? Why not?"

"I-I... I just can't. Y-you can't imagine the pressure I'm going through, you just can't. Guess what they told me? I can't afford to make any mistakes, at all. One wrong movement and it's all over. I... I can't do it," A whispered. "I know I'm going to screw up somehow, a-and... I-I don't want that. I don't want to be the first successor. I don't." By the end of his story, A began to sound a bit hysteric. He felt as if something was pressing down on his throat, blocking his breathing slowly in the worst possible way.

"Calm down A, you're going to trigger another panic attack if you don't," Beyond said calmly, unable to snap A out of his zoning. "A!" Beyond resorted to the only working trick he knew when it came to A's panic attacks and slapped him across the face, the sound of the slap echoing in the empty hallway for a while. "Get a grip!" he commanded.

A looked like a deer caugh in car's headlights after the slap, but it had worked again - he hadn't been able to concentrate on his panic attack for a second or two, and his heart beat had finally began to search for its normal, slower pace. "Thanks, I think I needed that," he mumbled and rubbed his cheek, looking elsewhere.

"That's what friends are for, right?"

"Right."

* * *

Months passed and A had somewhat gathered himself and at least tried to cope with his situation, no matter how much he disliked it. Beyond thought it was a painful scenario to watch - watch how his friend was being forced into something he certainly didn't want. Slowly, but surely, cracks had appeared to A's personality.

Beyond sat in the corner of his bed, knees pulled up against his chest and chin resting on his knees. His thoughts about A were interrupted as someone knocked lightly on the door. He lazily focused his gaze on the door in the dark room - curtains were pulled in front of the window to prevent natural light from evading his private space and lights were turned off. When he didn't reply, he heard another series of knocks.

"Beyond? Are you there?"

Beyond merely blinked - what did Watari want this time? He already knew about his place when it came to successors and he as sure as hell didn't need any prep talks about it.

"Yes," Beyond finally replied.

"Go on in then, but I must warn you though - he's not like the rest of children in here." Beyond heard Watari speaking to someone else - oh, now this was interesting.

A ray of light from the hallway pierced through the crack of the opening door. Beyond lifted his head a bit when a pale hand fumbled for the light switch near the door. "Don't."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Watari asked from the person standing in the door way.

"Yes. You can leave now," the man replied in a monotone voice.

"Who are you?" Beyond asked, not bothering to look at the man's direction. "Don't even think about the light switch," he added.

"I am L." That short reply ignited a spark of interest in the back of Beyond's head and he turned his gaze towards the man.

"Oh? Are you?" he asked, tilting his head to the side a bit. "I'd rather call persons by their real name, L Lawliet."

"So it's true then."

This earned a small huff from Beyond's direction.

"You can tell the person's real name just by looking at them. Interesting."

"I can tell lots of other things as well."

"Such as?"

"None of your business."

"Why won't you let me turn the lights on?" L inquired.

"The fluorescent lights make an irritating noise, I can't even hear my own thoughts if the lights are on," Beyond replied nonchalantly.

"Fair enough. I suppose you are already aware of you being the second successor?"

"Yes. I'm also aware that A's the first one. Not that he actually wants it or is happy about it," Beyond scoffed. "You all have put an enormous pressure on him and he's beginning to crack under it. I seriously suggest you rethink that decision."

"Considering all the traits A possesses, he's the one most fit to be my successor."

"He doesn't handle pressure well, or stress. Are you blind, deaf or just a plain idiot?" Beyond asked and shifted a bit on his bed.

"And considering the tone of your voice and your insults, you are not too happy about that," L stated and blinked - his eyes were getting somewhat used to the darkness in the room.

"Would you be happy to see the only friend of yours to crack and fall into pieces right in front of your eyes, knowing there's nothing you can do about it?" Beyond questioned and stood up.

"I do not know, since I have never had any friends," L commented, his voice void of any emotion.

Beyond shook his head and his lips curled into something that could resemble a bitter smile. L sounded just like himself when he was younger - no friends. Interesting.

"I seriously suggest you rethink your decision," Beyond repeated and walked to L's side.

"I have. One way or the other, A is the best choice," L replied. "Rethinking the same thing over again would be a waste of my time. I do not like wasting my time on pointless things."

"Pointless things?" Beyond repeated after L, giving him the best seething glare he could muster at the moment. "Ones mental health is not a pointless thing as far as I know," he spat.

"Calm yourself."

"I'm not taking any orders from you," Beyond huffed and turned his gaze away from the slightly crouched silhouette next to him.

"I was warned about your unpredictable personality and mood swings," L hummed, blinking his eyes. "If you think your actions should scare me to some point, you are going to be disappointed."

Just who the hell did this man think he was? And most of all, how the hell was he able to stay calm all the time? Was he on a medication or something? Just the plain fact that L was completely unaffected by Beyond's actions or words made him fascinating in the eyes of the younger one. Extremely fascinating. Even though he had sounded a bit harsh a moment ago, L didn't even flinch. Nothing.

"You wanted to talk to me about something, am I right?" Beyond asked after a while of staying completely silent.

"Actually no. I merely wanted to see you, since I have heard some of the most fascinating stories about you and your personality. Not to mention your unusual skills as well," L replied.

Beyond laughed a bit. "Skills? They're not that big of deal, you know."

"You do know that the skill you possess, seeing the real names of people, could be used for very great things. Whether they are good or bad, I can't tell."

Beyond scratched his cheeck for a while. "I don't know about that. You see, I have no interest in using my skills for other people. I see them as my very own personal advantage."

"Watari also mentioned that you can be a very selfish person sometimes," L mentioned, making it sound like he was actually talking to himself.

"I can't and won't please every person I meet," Beyond stated shortly.

"I think this was all, B."

"It's Beyond," the said man growled. He hated to be called by a single letter - it made him seem like he had no personality, that he just was. Nothing else. Merely existed.

"Good night, B."

Beyond let out a displeased grumble after L left and leaned against the wall. L indeed was an interesting personality. He refused to play by Beyond's rules, denied things from him. Beyond disliked him for that, but he also liked him for that. One thing was certain - he would eagerly wait for the next meeting they had.

* * *

The said meeting came sooner than Beyond had expected, but he didn't complain. This time he would be completely calm, no matter what. He would not get aggravated, he wouldn't let L get to him with his words.

After a long, 8 hour school day Beyond finally made his back to his dormitory room, blinking his eyes a bit as he saw a certain detective sitting on his bed - in a very peculiar position nonetheless.

"Lawliet," he greeted and closed the door after stepping inside.

"I heard about your eating habits," L stated and looked over to the desk, where one jar of strawberry jam sat obidiently. "Is that truly the only thing you eat?" he inquired.

Beyond's eyes widened a bit - had L actually brought him a present of some sort? How sweet, no pun intended. "Well... yes," Beyond replied soon and let go of his bag, letting it fall on the floor with a soft thump.

He walked over to his desk, grabbed the jar and opened it, sticking two fingers into the red, sticky jam. "So, what do you want this time?" he asked as he licked his fingers clean. "Bringing me bribes and all."

"I was merely being considerate," L replied and looked at Beyond closely. "Considering the last talk we had, I thought I might have offended you in some way."

Beyond snorted. "It's not that easy to offend me, my dearest Lawliet," he commented and continued to empty the jar of its contents.

"Seeing that you and I are not a couple of any sort, I find it unnecessary for you to call me with such words," the older man said, blinking his owl like eyes.

The room was still a bit shadowy, but some of the daylight managed to filter through the dark curtains, giving Beyond a good chance to examine L's appearance. He had a messy, black hair as well and his pale skin told Beyond that the man didn't exactly enjoy going outside. The most interesting thing about L to Beyond was the fact that the older man didn't seem to have any kind of emotions. But then again you could figure that out only by talking to him.

"You're a very strange person, Lawliet," Beyond said after a while, still busy with emptying the jam jar.

L merely blinked at Beyond's words. "So I have been told."

"But somehow beautiful at the same time," the younger one continued. This comment made L shift a bit on the bed, but there were no other reactions besides that.

"That was not necessary, B."

Beyond smirked. "Oh? Does it bother you?" he asked and moved few steps closer to the bed, putting the jar down on his desk. "Do you know how good this stuff actually is?" Beyond made another question before L had the chance to react to his first one, this question referring to the jam. Some was still on his fingers.

"I have tasted that, yes. I prefer other sweets," L said, moving a bit back as Beyond sat down on the edge of the bed. "Why do you ask?"

"Taste it," Beyond said, placing his fingers near L's face.

"No thank you."

"Oh, don't be like that Lawliet. If it's eaten this way, the taste gets better," Beyond said and tilted his head a bit. "Eaten with crackers or shit like that only makes the real taste fade - eaten with a spoon adds the cold metallic taste to it as well and ruins the whole thing."

"Thank you for telling me that, but no thank you. As I said, there are other sweets that I prefer to eat," L repeated.

Beyond huffed and proceeded to lick his fingers clean. "Fine, be like that. Your loss." L's personality was indeed fascinating. Beyond smiled to himself as he licked the last drops of the sticky substance off of his fingers. L was truly an interesting person, but it would be more interesting when he would get into his head. He would mess everything up there, just so the detective would know what he had done to A. It would be a lesson that L would never ever even dare to think about forgetting, Beyond would make that sure. Seeing some emotions on the older man's face would be truly a beautiful sight.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because."

* * *

**A/N:** So, can I get some reviews?


End file.
